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On Monday night, President Donald Trump welcomed to the White House the reigning champs of college football, the Clemson Tigers, with a banquet of McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King and Domino’s. The hamburgers and Filet-O-Fish sandwiches (still in their packaging), french fries, Chicken McNuggets, pizzas, salads and an array of dipping sauces were neatly presented on silver platters. “We have 300 hamburgers, many, many french fries, all of our favorite foods,” Trump told the Clemson players in a

On Monday night, President Donald Trump welcomed to the White House the reigning champs of college football, the Clemson Tigers, with a banquet of McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King and Domino’s. The hamburgers and Filet-O-Fish sandwiches (still in their packaging), french fries, Chicken McNuggets, pizzas, salads and an array of dipping sauces were neatly presented on silver platters.

“We have 300 hamburgers, many, many french fries, all of our favorite foods,” Trump told the Clemson players in a video captured by the Associated Press. “I want to see what’s here when we leave, because I don’t believe there’s going to be much.”

Traditionally the White House would cater such a feast, but with the government shutdown, much of the President’s kitchen staff has been furloughed, so Trump paid $3,000 out of his own pocket for the spread, according to Trump and to Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Lawmakers are set to vote on May’s Brexit deal on Tuesday, after she shelved plans for a vote in December when it became clear that not enough lawmakers from her own party or others would back the deal she agreed with Brussels. May looks little closer to securing the support she needs, but writing in the Sunday Express she said lawmakers must not let down the people who voted for Brexit. On Friday, her foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said Brexit might not happen at all if May’s deal was defeated. B

British Prime Minister Theresa May has warned lawmakers that failure to back her plan to leave the European Union would be catastrophic for Britain, in a plea for support two days ahead of a vote in parliament that she is expected to lose.

Lawmakers are set to vote on May’s Brexit deal on Tuesday, after she shelved plans for a vote in December when it became clear that not enough lawmakers from her own party or others would back the deal she agreed with Brussels.

May looks little closer to securing the support she needs, but writing in the Sunday Express she said lawmakers must not let down the people who voted for Brexit.

“Doing so would be a catastrophic and unforgivable breach of trust in our democracy,” May said.

“So my message to Parliament this weekend is simple: it is time to forget the games and do what is right for our country.”

On Friday, her foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said Brexit might not happen at all if May’s deal was defeated.

Britain, the world’s fifth largest economy, is scheduled to quit the European Union on March 29.

The Sunday Times reported that rebel lawmakers were planning to wrest control of the legislative agenda away from May next week with a view to suspending or delaying Brexit, citing a senior government source.

The Chinese economy is a bigger worry right now than the U.S. economy, according to an investments expert at a private bank. Still, he ultimately expressed optimism that China’s leaders will keep their economy together. “The Chinese economy is, at the moment, a bigger cause of concern right now compared to the U.S. economy,” Brill told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” Adding the tariff battle between the two largest economies just means growth will be “a bit more difficult” for Beijing, he noted. “This is s

The Chinese economy is a bigger worry right now than the U.S. economy, according to an investments expert at a private bank.

Speaking to CNBC on Friday, Felix Brill, the head of investment solutions at Liechtenstein-based VP Bank, said investors should expect more market volatility due to the ongoing trade war negotiations between Washington and Beijing. Still, he ultimately expressed optimism that China’s leaders will keep their economy together.

“The Chinese economy is, at the moment, a bigger cause of concern right now compared to the U.S. economy,” Brill told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

He added that there are “clear signs” that China’s economy is slowing in the short term, and there may be more dragging on the nation as it looks to transition its economic model from one led by exportation to a more consumption-driven approach. Adding the tariff battle between the two largest economies just means growth will be “a bit more difficult” for Beijing, he noted.

But, Brill said, that doesn’t mean China won’t be able to push through those challenges.

“This is some cause for concern in the short term, but I’m confident that the Chinese authorities, again, will step in and implement additional measures to support the economy,” he said.

Beijing’s efforts to prop up a slowing Chinese economy, in the middle of an ongoing trade war with Washington, is pushing the government to introduce previously untested policies, according to a senior analyst at Moody’s Investors Service. While official data have indicated that China’s economy held up for much of last year, cracks have started appearing in recent months as production metrics and export orders fell. But the tariff war has piled on additional pressure on China’s economy. “We see

Beijing’s efforts to prop up a slowing Chinese economy, in the middle of an ongoing trade war with Washington, is pushing the government to introduce previously untested policies, according to a senior analyst at Moody’s Investors Service.

While official data have indicated that China’s economy held up for much of last year, cracks have started appearing in recent months as production metrics and export orders fell.

After decades of breakneck growth, the world’s second-largest economy was already facing domestic headwinds even before the escalation in trade tensions with the U.S. But the tariff war has piled on additional pressure on China’s economy.

“We see growth in China slowing to 6 percent,” Christian Fang, an assistant vice president-analyst at Moody’s, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday. “I think the bigger issue for us is that policy trade-offs have increased in China. On the one hand, there is this broader campaign of de-risking, deleveraging, but policy also seems to be shifting slightly towards growth — supporting growth.”

“Some of the tools in the policy response they have meted out are untested,” he added. “Tax cuts, for instance, we don’t know what the businesses and the consumers — how they would respond to the tax cuts.”

In last few months, Beijing has announced several measures aimed at propping up its economy.

On Wednesday, state media reported that China will be granting more tax breaks to small firms. The measures include substantial cuts in business income tax rates and an increase in the tax threshold, with the aim of saving small and micro firms a total of 200 billion yuan ($30 billion) each year, according to Xinhua.

The People’s Bank of China said last Friday it will cut the amount of reserves that banks are required to hold by 1 percentage point this month — that means banks would have more money to lend to customers. In December, the Chinese central bank introduced a new tool to encourage commercial banks to give out more loans to smaller firms.

The measures to spur growth, which theoretically could saddle the economy with more debt, is creating a trade-off with Beijing’s efforts to clean up its financial system. Experts have said that the ongoing trade war with the U.S. is forcing China to retreat from its own anti-debt battle while others have suggested the country hasn’t done enough to stimulate the economy.

“Since mid-2018, China’s authorities have eased policy through targeted liquidity measures, taxation changes and infrastructure spending, which will shore up growth,” Fang and his colleagues at Moody’s wrote in a Jan 10. report.

“However, designing and implementing policy that simultaneously buffers the shock of the US trade tariffs and potential further restrictions while continuing deleveraging and derisking without triggering too sharp a slowdown in growth, poses complex trade-offs,” they added.

The U.S. and China on Wednesday concluded a three-day round of trade talks in Beijing, which analysts said revealed signs of modest progress.

Tesla disappointed investors Wednesday, announcing that it delivered 90,700 vehicles during the fourth quarter — short of Wall Street forecasts despite its efforts to ramp up production. Tesla also said it boosted production during the quarter, churning out 86,500 vehicles, up from 80,142 during the third quarter. The $7,500 federal tax credit for Tesla cars was cut in half as of Tuesday. He said the cut in prices was likely weighing on the stock. “It was a move that was within the realm of poss

Tesla disappointed investors Wednesday, announcing that it delivered 90,700 vehicles during the fourth quarter — short of Wall Street forecasts despite its efforts to ramp up production.

Tesla also said it boosted production during the quarter, churning out 86,500 vehicles, up from 80,142 during the third quarter.

The electric car maker’s shares fell by more than 9 percent in morning trading.

“Tesla shares tend to a have a lot more noise and volatility than most, but we think investors who are willing to take a longer-term view of the story will be rewarded handsomely and continue to believe Tesla is on track to post one of the market’s most robust year-over-year earnings increases in 2019,” said CFRA analyst Garrett Nelson.

The company also announced that it’s cutting prices on all of its models by $2,000 to help offset a reduction in federal tax credits for drivers who buy electric vehicles. The $7,500 federal tax credit for Tesla cars was cut in half as of Tuesday.

Although the delivery numbers were 2,000 fewer than expected in a FactSet survey of analysts, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told CNBC they were consistent with his prediction. He said the cut in prices was likely weighing on the stock.

“It was a move that was within the realm of possibility, but it caught investors off guard,” he said.

Bearish investors are likely interpreting the price cut as an attempt to stimulate demand, but Ives said it was more of a way to soften the blow from the tax credit drop.

For now, Israelis seem to be sticking with Netanyahu, with the first poll since early elections were called showing him cruising to an easy re-election. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the allegations as a media-orchestrated witch hunt aimed at removing him from office. Is it for a man who is facing charges of bribery or for a man who is facing lesser charges?” In exchange, they believe Netanyahu used his connections with Bezeq’s controlling shareholder to secure positive press c

A day after snap elections were called in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerged as the overwhelming early front-runner Tuesday, with rivals and commentators alike pinning their primary hopes of unseating him on a potential corruption indictment.

With Netanyahu holding a commanding lead in the polls, all eyes are on Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and whether he will decide before April’s elections on whether to press charges against the longtime leader on a series of corruption allegations.

“Avichai Mandelblit needs to tell us before the elections if there is an indictment or not,” Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, one of Netanyahu’s primary challengers, told the YNet news site. “People need to know what they are voting for.”

For now, Israelis seem to be sticking with Netanyahu, with the first poll since early elections were called showing him cruising to an easy re-election.

The Panels Politics poll in the Maariv daily showed Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party securing 30 seats in the 120-seat parliament and a majority for his current right-wing, nationalist bloc. Coming in second at 13 seats was the still hypothetical party headed by former military chief Benny Gantz, who has yet to declare whether he is even running. The established left and center parties lagged far behind.

The survey polled 500 Israelis and had a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.

Netanyahu on Monday called early elections for April, setting the stage for a three-month campaign clouded by a series of corruption investigations against the long-serving Israeli leader. With the traditional opposition parties splintered, the only thing seeming to stand in Netanyahu’s path toward a fourth consecutive term is a potential indictment. While Israeli law is unclear on such a scenario, several party chiefs have vowed not to serve in a coalition led by someone facing criminal charges.

Netanyahu, facing the possibility of bribery and breach of trust charges in three different cases, brushed aside questions on how his legal peril would influence the election at a gathering of his Likud Party as he announced plans for what is expected to be an April 9 vote.

Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the allegations as a media-orchestrated witch hunt aimed at removing him from office. With the accusations looming, the upcoming election is expected to emerge as a referendum on Netanyahu as he seeks to become the longest serving premier in Israeli history.

Mandelblit’s office says his decision, expected in the coming months, would not be influenced by any political timetable.

“Mandelblit has an unprecedented time bomb sitting on his desk,” wrote Ben Caspit in Maariv, noting that some of Netanyahu’s staunchest backers have vowed to support him even if he is convicted. “In this chaotic lunatic asylum, Avichai Mandelblit is the sole responsible adult.”

Yediot Ahronot columnist Nahum Barnea said Mandelblit was in a no-win situation and likened his plight to that of former FBI Director James Comey during the 2016 American presidential election.

“If Mandelblit decides to postpone the decision until after the elections, many Israelis will ask — and justly so — for whom are they being asked to vote. Is it for a man who is facing charges of bribery or for a man who is facing lesser charges?” he wrote.

“If Mandelblit decides to release his decision in the midst of the run-up to the elections, he will be attacked by all of the candidates running on the Likud’s list, first and foremost among them Netanyahu. By what right is he meddling in the elections, they will ask.”

Earlier this month, police recommended that Netanyahu be charged with bribery for promoting regulatory changes worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the country’s main telecom company Bezeq. In exchange, they believe Netanyahu used his connections with Bezeq’s controlling shareholder to secure positive press coverage on the company’s popular news site.

Police have also recommended indicting Netanyahu on corruption charges in two other cases. One involves accepting gifts from billionaire friends, and the second revolves around alleged offers of advantageous legislation for a major newspaper in return for favorable press coverage.

President Donald Trump spent the early hours of Christmas Eve attacking his political enemies and criticizing the Federal Reserve, as the government entered its third day of partial shutdown and markets tanked yet again. “It was only when I made it an important part of my campaign, because people and drugs were pouring into our Country unchecked, that they turned against it,” the president wrote. “I never ‘lashed out’ at the Acting Attorney General of the U.S., a man for whom I have great respec

President Donald Trump spent the early hours of Christmas Eve attacking his political enemies and criticizing the Federal Reserve, as the government entered its third day of partial shutdown and markets tanked yet again.

“I am all alone (poor me) in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal on desperately needed Border Security,” the president wrote in a post on Twitter.

The tweet came minutes after the president posted attacks on the Fed, Democrats, the top Republican lawmaker on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the special envoy in charge of combatting ISIS, who announced over the weekend that he would be resigning at the end of the month after Trump decided to pull American troops from Syria.

Trump, who canceled a planned vacation to Florida as 800,000 federal employees remain without pay, spent the morning posting his grievances on Twitter.

The president’s posts come amid growing uncertainty in Washington. The shutdown continued without a resolution in sight. Meanwhile the administration itself remains in a state of flux after the surprise departure of Defense Secretary James Mattis, which Trump accelerated by two months over the weekend.

As stocks tumbled following the worst week for markets since the 2008 financial crisis, the president wrote on Twitter that the “only problem our economy has” is the Fed, accusing the central bank of not having “a feel for the Market, they don’t understand necessary Trade Wars or Strong Dollars or even Democrat Shutdowns over Borders.”

The Federal Reserve has a dual mandate to keep prices stable and achieve maximum employment. The Fed aims to accomplish those goals primarily by setting interest rates at a level that will prevent runaway inflation or deflation.

Last week, the Fed raised its benchmark interest rate for the fourth time this year and signaled it would hike rates twice in 2019.

The president’s tirade stretched beyond the economy though, which he has touted as a symbol of his agenda’s success two years into his presidency. Trump also blasted unnamed U.S. senators who he said misunderstood his foreign policy, and “Virtually every Democrat” whose motives for opposing funding for his proposed border wall he called into question.

“It was only when I made it an important part of my campaign, because people and drugs were pouring into our Country unchecked, that they turned against it,” the president wrote.

He said that Brett McGurk, the U.S. special envoy for the coalition to defeat ISIS, “was the Obama appointee who was responsible for loading up airplanes with 1.8 Billion Dollars in CASH & sending it to Iran as part of the horrific Iran Nuclear Deal (now terminated) approved by Little Bob Corker.”

McGurk served as an advisor on Middle East issues under President George W. Bush before President Barack Obama appointed him to his present role in 2015.

The cash Trump is referring to is money owed to Iran for U.S. arms purchased prior to the 1979 revolution but never delivered in light of the break in U.S.-Iran relations. Of the total $1.7 billion paid to Iran in 2016, $1.3 billion was accrued interest, according to the Congressional Research Service.

The criticism of Corker, the Tennessee Republican who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is a return to an old and misleading critique: that Corker is soft on Iran and backed the 2015 nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic. In fact, Corker led GOP opposition to the accord and is a prominent Iran hawk.

Trump also blasted news reports that he had vented at his acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker his frustration with the federal investigation into Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen.

Cohen has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about Trump’s business dealings with Russia during the 2016 election, and told federal prosecutors that the president directed him to commit campaign finance violations, which the president has denied.

Trump said the reports about his conversations with Whitaker were incorrect.

“I never ‘lashed out’ at the Acting Attorney General of the U.S., a man for whom I have great respect,” Trump wrote. “This is a made up story, one of many, by the Fake News Media!”

In between his tweets criticizing “sympathizers” of McGurk and challenging the Fed, Trump delivered a statement in all capital letters.

China’s top leaders have ended a vital economic meeting with a fiscal pledge to support economic growth next year. According to state media, Beijing policymakers will keep liquidity “ample” and cut taxes on a bigger scale in a bid to keep 2019 growth within a “reasonable range.” “The pro-active fiscal policy should enhance efficiency, implement larger-scale tax cuts and fee reductions, and substantially increase the size of local government special bonds,” Xinhua said in a translation provided b

China’s top leaders have ended a vital economic meeting with a fiscal pledge to support economic growth next year.

According to state media, Beijing policymakers will keep liquidity “ample” and cut taxes on a bigger scale in a bid to keep 2019 growth within a “reasonable range.”

The world’s second-largest economy grew at 6.5 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2018, marking the weakest pace since the global financial crisis in 2008.

“The pro-active fiscal policy should enhance efficiency, implement larger-scale tax cuts and fee reductions, and substantially increase the size of local government special bonds,” Xinhua said in a translation provided by Reuters.

The annual Central Economic Work Conference, which ran from Tuesday until Friday, was attended by President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and Chairman of the National People’s Congress Li Zhanshu.

China will also reportedly seek to fulfil the trade bargain agreed between Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump in Argentina on December 1. Other commitments announced included an accelerated roll-out of 5G technology and continued policies to dampen property speculation.

The Shanghai composite and the main Shenzhen index are both down more than 20 percent this year, putting Chinese stocks among the worst performers globally.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he trusts Chinese President Xi Jinping’s word on commitments to trade reforms, amid confusion about what the two leaders actually agreed to as part of their weekend trade truce. The leaders are trying to come to terms over what the Trump administration calls unfair trade practices. In tweets Wednesday morning, Trump pushed back on reports that China may not swiftly address the White House’s concerns. “Not to sound naive or anything, but I believe Presid

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he trusts Chinese President Xi Jinping’s word on commitments to trade reforms, amid confusion about what the two leaders actually agreed to as part of their weekend trade truce.

The world’s two largest economies agreed to halt an escalating series of tariffs following a face to face meeting between Trump and Xi at the G-20 summit in Argentina on Saturday. But Trump’s claims about what China conceded have muddled the start of a 90-day window for talks to reach an agreement. The leaders are trying to come to terms over what the Trump administration calls unfair trade practices. The mixed messages coming from the White House helped to sink U.S. stock markets on Tuesday.

In tweets Wednesday morning, Trump pushed back on reports that China may not swiftly address the White House’s concerns. He said Beijing sent “very strong signals” about taking action on trade after a “long trip, including stops,” home from Argentina.

“Not to sound naive or anything, but I believe President Xi meant every word of what he said at our long and hopefully historic meeting. ALL subjects discussed!” the president tweeted.

Trump, a president who often declares victory even in the absence of concrete progress, quickly touted major Chinese concessions following the meeting Saturday. He said Monday that China would “immediately” start purchasing more agricultural products and “reduce and remove tariffs” on auto imports — statements that White House officials and the Chinese government struggled to clarify in the ensuing days.

The “Made in China 2025” plan is Beijing’s industrial policy to invest heavily in high-end technologies such as artificial intelligence in a bid to catch up with rivals like the U.S. and Germany. The analysts’ comments follow Trump and Xi’s agreement over the weekend at the G-20 meeting in Argentinato put their bilateral trade war on pause momentarily. China is one of the world’s top producers of ingredients used to manufacture fentanyl, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. After all, so

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping may have put their tit-for-tat tariff fight on hold, but differences between the two countries’ views on technology and state-supported businesses will challenge negotiations between the two economic giants, analysts said.

“Staunchly committed to the Chinese economic model, Xi will continue to lend state support to targeted industries, particularly in technology under the Made in China 2025 programme,” Eleanor Olcott, China policy analyst at research firm TS Lombard, wrote on Monday.

Washington has accused China of forcing technology transfers, and tacitly supporting intellectual property violations and cyber-crime, but those issues were downplayed in official descriptions of the weekend’s agreement.

“Despite White House economic advisor (Larry) Kudlow suggesting that the two sides are ‘pretty close’ on an agreement on intellectual property theft, 90 days still looks like a short period for discussions on complicated issues such as non-tariff barriers,” wrote Zhu Huani, an economist at Mizuho Bank in a note on Tuesday.

“Whilst reducing (the) trade gap could be the easier part to begin with, China is less likely to make concessions on its industrial policies such as ‘Made in China 2025,’ which might hinder discussion surrounding technology transfer,” added Zhu.

The “Made in China 2025” plan is Beijing’s industrial policy to invest heavily in high-end technologies such as artificial intelligence in a bid to catch up with rivals like the U.S. and Germany.

The analysts’ comments follow Trump and Xi’s agreement over the weekend at the G-20 meeting in Argentinato put their bilateral trade war on pause momentarily. They would, according to official statements, hold off on slapping additional tariffs on each other’s goods after Jan. 1 as talks continue between both countries.

As part of the deal, China said it would purchase more American imports, particularly in energy and agriculture. Beijing will also exert more control over the flow of fentanyl — a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more addictive than heroin and has been linked to thousands of overdose deaths in the United States. China is one of the world’s top producers of ingredients used to manufacture fentanyl, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

But, “it is unclear how this [deal at the G-20] will resolve issues related to IP protection and forced technology transfers in China — it won’t,” economists from French trade credit insurer Coface wrote in a note on Monday.

After all, some are even jokingly questioning if Trump and Xi even attended the same meeting given the significant differences in statements from the two sides.

“There is reason to believe the two parties do not quite meet over the finer details of the deal: pointedly, no joint statement was released after the meeting. Furthermore, the statements that the U.S. and China issued separately showed material divergences, with the Chinese statement making no mention of the 90-day deadline on the threatened 25 percent tariff increase,” economists from Pictet Wealth Management wrote Monday.

Neither side referred to the “Made in China 2025” industrial policy, Pictet noted.

“Given the differences in starting positions, with the Chinese side setting red lines around its state-led system, it is highly unlikely that the time-frame of 90 days will allow the U.S. to extract concessions Trump could present as a large-scale ‘win’ with any degree of conviction,” said TS Lombard’s Olcott.

—CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger, Javier David and Saheli Roy Choudhury contributed to this report.